Irfan Habib was a popular businessman and community leader

Dear Editor,

I would like to express my deepest sympathies to the bereaved family and loved ones of Mohamed Irfan Habib, who recently passed away in Essequibo. Irfan was a popular businessman and community leader whose sudden demise has startled many at home and abroad.

For a young adult to suffer a heart attack begs the question about whether living in fresh-food and fresh-air Guyana really makes one immune from the many diseases more modern societies face. Of course, this is not a statistical confirmation of which lifestyle is better, but surely a call for reflection as many struggle daily to find the right balance of diet and spiritual growth.

The highlight of Mr Habib’s life maybe summed up in the huge funeral turnout he received in rural Huis’t Dieren. Indeed he may have faltered in his personal struggles, being human, but being a helpful businessman and leader of the community policing group he demonstrated repeatedly for Guyanese generally and people of faith specifically, that when it’s all over and the curtains are drawn it’s the goodness you displayed to humanity and not the labels by which you were identified that matters.

May he rest well and peace be found among the many grieving hearts left behind.

Yours faithfully,
Habeeb Alli